VW TDI Settlement - buying a TDI now

28firefighter

Michaell said:

Looking at my spreadsheet, I see almost $250K being distributed to the folks here. How'd you like to be the person monitoring the account balance for VW? How much do you think they are paying out each day? $1M? More? I know that owners have until 2018 to make their decision, but I suspect many of them are getting out as quickly as they can, so they can move on to something else.

The rep at the dealer I turned into said he was handling 8 day averaging about $20k a pop. I'd say well north of $1mm a day. 

kyfdx

Way, way more than $1mm/day, at this point.

They have $10B to hand out. At $1mm/day, that would take 10,000 days, or over 25 years..

andres3

Michaell said:

Looking at my spreadsheet, I see almost $250K being distributed to the folks here.

How'd you like to be the person monitoring the account balance for VW? How much do you think they are paying out each day? $1M? More? I know that owners have until 2018 to make their decision, but I suspect many of them are getting out as quickly as they can, so they can move on to something else.

They most definitely should have written in that you'd get the buyback amount if your vehicle was totaled through no fault of your own during your valid time period. This would have made many more people wait until the end of the window of opportunity. Something tells me they want this over with as quickly as possible as well.

xwesx

andres3 said:

Michaell said:

Looking at my spreadsheet, I see almost $250K being distributed to the folks here.

How'd you like to be the person monitoring the account balance for VW? How much do you think they are paying out each day? $1M? More? I know that owners have until 2018 to make their decision, but I suspect many of them are getting out as quickly as they can, so they can move on to something else.

They most definitely should have written in that you'd get the buyback amount if your vehicle was totaled through no fault of your own during your valid time period. This would have made many more people wait until the end of the window of opportunity. Something tells me they want this over with as quickly as possible as well.

Well, that shouldn't really be an impediment to people holding their cars at this point. If the car is totalled, I do believe that they are eligible for the restitution portion, but not the vehicle value. Current retail value on the cars is not much depreciated from clean trade sixteen months ago. They might take a little hit, but it isn't going to be huge. It all depends on how much the owner argues it with their insurance company, TBH, because current retail on these cars is, realistically, the full buyback amount from VW. (In other words, why would anyone currently sell one of these cars for less than what VW would give them?)

andres3

xwesx said:

andres3 said:

Michaell said:

Looking at my spreadsheet, I see almost $250K being distributed to the folks here.

How'd you like to be the person monitoring the account balance for VW? How much do you think they are paying out each day? $1M? More? I know that owners have until 2018 to make their decision, but I suspect many of them are getting out as quickly as they can, so they can move on to something else.

They most definitely should have written in that you'd get the buyback amount if your vehicle was totaled through no fault of your own during your valid time period. This would have made many more people wait until the end of the window of opportunity. Something tells me they want this over with as quickly as possible as well.

Well, that shouldn't really be an impediment to people holding their cars at this point. If the car is totalled, I do believe that they are eligible for the restitution portion, but not the vehicle value. Current retail value on the cars is not much depreciated from clean trade sixteen months ago. They might take a little hit, but it isn't going to be huge. It all depends on how much the owner argues it with their insurance company, TBH, because current retail on these cars is, realistically, the full buyback amount from VW. (In other words, why would anyone currently sell one of these cars for less than what VW would give them?)

But don't you have to get the modifications completed in order to get the restitution? Man, this settlement was supposed to be simplified, but they sure made it complicated!

kyfdx

Yeah.. if you total your car, it's between you and the insurance company, and VW is out of it.

When you total it, the car belongs to the insurance company, and you won't even have the title to make a claim with VW.

andres3

kyfdx said:

Yeah.. if you total your car, it's between you and the insurance company, and VW is out of it.

When you total it, the car belongs to the insurance company, and you won't even have the title to make a claim with VW.

Yeah, seems like an uphill battle with an insurance company I'd rather avoid; hence why we took the first appointment available 1/30 @ 4:30 PM.

xwesx

kyfdx said:

Yeah.. if you total your car, it's between you and the insurance company, and VW is out of it.

When you total it, the car belongs to the insurance company, and you won't even have the title to make a claim with VW.

Just to clear up the restitution confusion, this is from the FAQ on vwcourtsettlement.com:

As long as your vehicle is operable under its own power, and you still have the title to it, or, if the car is financed, your lender holds the title, you can schedule a Buyback and drive it to your preferred Volkswagen or Audi Dealer. If your vehicle is not operable under its own power, you can may attempt to negotiate with your insurance company for a payment to repair it and proceed with a Buyback, or if you decide not to repair the vehicle, you may still be eligible for a restitution payment as long as your vehicle was operable as of June 28, 2016 and was “totaled” or became non-operable after September 16, 2016.

So, at this point, there is little value risk in people continuing to drive their cars.

kyfdx

you may still be eligible for a restitution payment as long as your vehicle was operable as of June 28, 2016 and was “totaled” or became non-operable after September 16, 2016.

Wouldn't want to bet on that, and take the chance. Who decides that, and what are the parameters?

henryn

The part about "may still be eligible". Note the word "MAY". I read that, I thought about it, I took the money while it was on the table. YMMV

xwesx

They say 'may' for everything, because they aren't going to create the impression that somebody's car has already been determined to be eligible.

Man, y'all are a squeamish crowd! I'm shocked that any of you even participated in the first place! I mean, so risky! LOL /slap

henryn

I just checked online with the credit union, the money has been deposited.

One more time: Thank you, @breld. And a thumbs up for the forums here at Edmunds, and a shout out to all of my friends here!

stickguy

I'm still bummed I didn't pull off my plan to flip my wife's car for a JSW when QB got his. But, my plan would have gotten shredded. originally I was thinking about riding it out until the end. but with all the concerns about getting totaled or running out of money, I would have wimped out and taken the first appointment I could get!

sounds like most people are not looking to wait. Should not be too long before they clear the backlog and put this behind them (at least the buyback piece). Will be interesting to see how it works out rehabbing them all and getting them back on the market.

kyfdx

I don't think those 2.0 liters, 2009-13, are ever coming back.

28firefighter

Meant to post - my money cleared this morning (showed pending immediately). 

Having a Kentucky Mule to celebrate!

Thank you @breld!

qbrozen

I honestly can't remember if Breld talked me into this, but if so, thanks!

henryn

I don't think he "talked" anyone into anything. But he made us "aware", so that we could then make up our own minds.

qbrozen

I was being a bit facetious, but Hey, just mentioning something around here in passing regarding purchasing a car is akin to bringing a keg to an AA meeting.

kyfdx

I have to say, he did a lot research and was adamant about the possibilities. There is no way that I would have pursued it, without that, I don't think.

sda

GM gave diesels two black eyes back in the late 70's-early 80's. Now VW with diesel gate, and potentially FCA with the concern around their RAMs exceeding EPA guidelines. Marchionne even came out to say the return on investment from producing diesels is not attractive any more and the future focus will be on electrics, etc. It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Congrats to all who did well from the TDI buy back.

breld

Well, it's certainly nice that it worked out for everyone who participated! I may have kicked off the idea here in some way, but everyone else took it from there.

So, has pretty much everyone here been through the buyback process now?

xwesx

Haven't heard back from @Stevedebi, but I think everyone else is done or nearly so. I think one person had an early February appointment?

I still don't see that my loan was paid off. I'm on the phone now waiting to talk with a rep. Eleven minutes and counting.....

28firefighter

xwesx said:

Haven't heard back from @Stevedebi, but I think everyone else is done or nearly so. I think one person had an early February appointment?

I still don't see that my loan was paid off. I'm on the phone now waiting to talk with a rep. Eleven minutes and counting.....

Apparently it is taking 12-14 business days, according to threads I've read elsewhere. How long has it been since your appointment?

xwesx

28firefighter said:

Apparently it is taking 12-14 business days, according to threads I've read elsewhere. How long has it been since your appointment?

I finally talked to a rep about twenty minutes in, and she said that payment is sent as of about four hours ago, expected to post to my account by Tuesday. That's good enough for me for now; I'll hold off.

Appointment was 1/9, so it's "only" been nine business days. But, I've already lost $15.00 in equity since then, so come on people! Time is money here!

andres3

VW turned around our Golf Sport Wagon in a day, claimed it was a clogged tube or hose (car-speak for drain pipe I think) that was causing water to seep into the headliner and pillar tops through the roof.

Buyback Appointment is scheduled for 1/30/17. They didn't detail nor even attempt to clean (it appears to me) the minor water staining visible in the headliner; not the best service department in my opinion. That cleaning should have been done as part of the warranty service since the failure was directly responsible for the resulting consequential damages. Not a big deal as the water intrusion was probably less than 2 square feet total including all the spots combined.

Possibly they skimped because they knew of the looming buyback appointment since we told them that information in order to guarantee a loaner car would be given free of charge. Maybe only people over 6' tall ever look up at the headliner.

My wife must be more forgiving as I'd of probably still told them to fix it before handing over the keys to the loaner. Left dirty, it'll be harder to tell when the roof leaks again, if it does ever leak again. Oh well. Again, this won't be our problem in another week.

xwesx

As anticipated last Friday morning, my lienholder received the payoff check from VW this morning and posted it to the account within a few hours. I had a little over $700 in additional equity, which they rolled into my associated "savings" account.

Looking at net return between the total buyback and the gross loan (e.g., subtracting total loan amount plus paid interest of $200), it was ~$8,800.

So concludes this chapter; it was quite the ride!

qbrozen

I have no idea if mine was paid off yet. I should be getting back about $400

xwesx

qbrozen said:

I have no idea if mine was paid off yet. I should be getting back about $400

I cared because I didn't want them dragging their feet on the payoff. The longer they took, the more interest charges accumulated, and that was money directly out of my pocket. Just in the 17 days between my last payment and the payoff, the account accumulated another $18+ in charges. :@

Shoot; that's a couple weeks' worth of lunches!

corvette

$1 per day in interest? And that's about what lunch costs? I need to shop at your grocery store, or eat at your company's cafeteria.

xwesx

corvette said:

$1 per day in interest? And that's about what lunch costs? I need to shop at your grocery store, or eat at your company's cafeteria.

I have a method to minimize my lunch costs! $1/day may be an overstatement, TBH.

henryn

I suspicion this sub-forum has just about run it's course. I just wanted to say, before it gets closed, that I am enjoying my new 2017 Passat. Which cost me less than what they paid for my 2013 with 70k miles. This is indeed a very good thing.

andres3

henryn said:

I suspicion this sub-forum has just about run it's course. I just wanted to say, before it gets closed, that I am enjoying my new 2017 Passat. Which cost me less than what they paid for my 2013 with 70k miles. This is indeed a very good thing.

Is this your first VW (excluding the TDI arbitrage purchase)?

stickguy

based on my experience with the 1.8t engine in the Jetta, your MPG is not even going to go down that much. Will still be getting excellent mileage. Certainly better the the PU you traded in!

still mad I missed out. Not just the money (well, the money), but would have timed out perfectly, since my daughter is on term abroad now, not back until late April, and while she is gone I have a spare car laying around anyway. So no need to shop until the spring.

henryn

andres3 said:

henryn said:

I suspicion this sub-forum has just about run it's course. I just wanted to say, before it gets closed, that I am enjoying my new 2017 Passat. Which cost me less than what they paid for my 2013 with 70k miles. This is indeed a very good thing.

Is this your first VW (excluding the TDI arbitrage purchase)?

No, not my first VW. My mother owned a VW Bug, back in the late 60’s when I was in high school, and I put a few miles on that. Then, in 2008, my wife (now ex) purchased with my guidance a 2008 Passat 2.0T. She liked (still likes) fast cars, and that 2.0T was a rocket ship. At the time, I had a 2001 Mustang GT convertible. The Passat would easily outrun the Mustang GT, which I found so embarrassing that I sold the Mustang.

I really wish I could have gotten the 2.0T engine in this Passat, there is a world of difference between the 1.8T and the 2.0T, but the 1.8T is good enough. Feels much better to me than the Accord NA 4 cylinder. Turbo charged engines just have more low rpm torque, and feel more responsive.

I am giving serious consideration to dropping $599 on a “tune” for this one. Should make it almost as fast as the 2.0T.

andres3

henryn said:

andres3 said:

henryn said:

I suspicion this sub-forum has just about run it's course. I just wanted to say, before it gets closed, that I am enjoying my new 2017 Passat. Which cost me less than what they paid for my 2013 with 70k miles. This is indeed a very good thing.

Is this your first VW (excluding the TDI arbitrage purchase)?

No, not my first VW. My mother owned a VW Bug, back in the late 60’s when I was in high school, and I put a few miles on that. Then, in 2008, my wife (now ex) purchased with my guidance a 2008 Passat 2.0T. She liked (still likes) fast cars, and that 2.0T was a rocket ship. At the time, I had a 2001 Mustang GT convertible. The Passat would easily outrun the Mustang GT, which I found so embarrassing that I sold the Mustang.

I really wish I could have gotten the 2.0T engine in this Passat, there is a world of difference between the 1.8T and the 2.0T, but the 1.8T is good enough. Feels much better to me than the Accord NA 4 cylinder. Turbo charged engines just have more low rpm torque, and feel more responsive.

I am giving serious consideration to dropping $599 on a “tune” for this one. Should make it almost as fast as the 2.0T.

Your experience is probably why I've never seen a Mustang or Camaro driven spiritedly in the mountains of East or North East San Diego County. I've gone canyon carving a lot since my '06 A3 2.0T inspired me to drive for the fun of it, and I've seen plenty of spiritedly driven cars.

Even ones you wouldn't expect, like an old Cadillac and a Toyota Corolla "S" model. Goes to show it is more about the driver than the car a lot of the time.

Interesting chasing and keeping up with some good ones, like a Lotus that made me drive the hell out of my "stock" at the time A3.

andres3

Is everyone in agreement that the mileage range limits you to 1,042 miles per month before you start getting dinged?

The reason I ask is our TDI is exactly only 20 miles below that threshold since the buyback appointment is today. My wife didn't take the TDI to work today! The dealership is only 5 miles away or so, but still; getting mighty close and the last thing I want to be is docked (or postpone and reschedule a few weeks to not be docked.

It was an easy calculation since today represents 17 months of ownership (down to the day I believe). 19,7XX miles. Am I worrying over nothing?

I have a feeling they have a "range" that allows for more before you get dinged.... but I don't remember the mileage ranges. Also, the claims settlement might use our mileage a month ago against us. We definitely drove more than 1,042 miles/month since our last self-reported mileage at claim time. That shouldn't make a difference, but if someone reads things wrong.....

corvette

I think some people have reported being slightly over the allotted amount and still getting the higher settlement payment. 

xwesx

Yes, it is a range. The table is listed within the documents at www.vwcourtsettlement.com. I doubt you will have any issues with that mileage you note.

breld

Attached here is the Golf mileage adjustment table.

xwesx

Whew! 19,7xx means you have 200+ miles of breathing room before you would take a hit of $385.

I hope the turn-in goes smoothly for you!

corvette

Anyone want a 3.0 liter TDI? 

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/02/01/512815167/vw-offers-buyback-or-cash-to-u-s-diesel-owners-in-latest-settlement-deal?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20170201

qbrozen

I wonder what they will use for buyback value on those

xwesx

Yes, would need to know more about the details before pulling the trigger on one of those, for sure! Additionally, the cat's already out of the bag, so I doubt the return would be all that attractive, to be honest. And, I believe only through MY2012 are eligible for buyback; the newer models are fix only.

andres3

xwesx said:

Whew! 19,7xx means you have 200+ miles of breathing room before you would take a hit of $385.

I hope the turn-in goes smoothly for you!

Turn-in did go smoothly and quickly. I think 15 minutes and we were done. The hardest part of the ordeal was removing the car seat! Can't anyone make belts and latches that work easy? It is one of the most difficult things in the world to "tighten" the car seat beyond a certain point. I've noticed instructor's at HPDE events have 4 and 5 point harnesses that also give me that issue of having belts that are extremely difficult to loosen and tighten.

xwesx

Ugh; yes! I had a heck of a time using the LATCH system on our children's car seat. I finally got it in there in a way I felt was secure, and then had to take it out a few days later. After that, I just used the car's seat belt and removed the LATCH hardware from the seat so that it wouldn't get in the way when we swapped the seat around between vehicles.

The car's belt was far faster and more secure than monkeying around with that ridiculous LATCH system.

stickguy

Been a long time for us (well before latch) but once I got a seat in correctly, it never came out. Each car had a seat that stayed in.

Moving to a booster was wonderful!

andres3

I bought a high-back booster, I think my girl is ready. Thing is, it'll probably be better in the Kia and I have to put the big hunk of heavy metal car-seat into the Audi. The Kia's upper latch is so close to the seat back that I can't possibly tighten the upper tether nearly enough; so this would be the right thing to do. In the Audi and other hatchbacks and wagons, the tether has to go further, to reach the latch on the seat back halfway down into the cargo area, whereas in a sedan it's like right there on top of the interior lid.

sda

I remember taking the booster seat out of our Odyssey when we got our '06 Pilot. It wasn't an easy task to remove and the booster left a permanent indentation in several spots on the seat. The dealer kept the Odyssey for their inventory and I noticed a week later, looking at it for sale on their online site, the indentations were still there.

stickguy

oh, you see that all the time in used car listings. Permanent indents from the car seats.

nyccarguy

Anybody ready for a 6cyl TDI?  2012 Touareg TDI with 20K miles for $33.5K

http://m.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=405873115&zip=06901&endYear=2012&pageLayout=list&fuelTypeGroup=DSL&sortBy=distanceASC&startYear=2011&engineGroup=6CLDR&searchRadius=200&mmt=[VOLKS[][]]